Gazprom unveiled as Champions League sponsor

Moscow, July 10 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia's state-run gas giant Gazprom has become an official partner of the Champions League football tournament through 2015, UEFA has announced.

The company, the largest natural gas extractor in the world, is seeking to promote its brand more heavily, and joins Heineken, UniCredit, Ford, MasterCard and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe as sponsors of the continent's premier club competition.

No value was announced for the partnership contract Monday.

"Gazprom is not only the largest gas company in the world, but is also one of those most passionate about football," UEFA quoted Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller as saying.

"Now we have joined the UEFA Champions League - the leading European club football competition. I am sure this cooperation will improve Gazprom's reputation and advance our brand awareness to a fundamentally new level on the global scale."

The three-year deal will run until the end of the 2014-15 season, and includes sponsorship of the UEFA Super Cup in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Gazprom is heavily invested in sports, sponsoring Russian Premier League champions Zenit St. Petersburg, German Bundesliga side FC Schalke, Serbian SuperLiga team Red Star Belgrade, hockey team Avangard Omsk, and cycling Team Katusha, among others.

Last month's Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich had a reported global television reach of 300 million viewers.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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